IAughtNaut's Australian Adventure

jimsport93 wrote: My initial thought was "no way would I do that". Then realized that my own son was stationed in southern Japan for three years with the Marines. We missed seeing him and our daughter in law as often as we used to. Those three years flew by pretty quickly! That is a tough decision. Hopefully, your company will compensate you for being out of the country, away from family, and away from most of your ski buds. Your young, single, got new ski buds Down Under.....pretty tempting!

I agree. Initial thoughts, no way. 2-3 years away will go quickly. I think it would be an incredible life experience. You will miss family, and they you, but a great experience for them too, to visit you. I say DO IT! And, isn't monies earned tax free? Good luck with it Buddy, you will make the right decision.

My friend moved to Asia with a major us sneaker company. 25 years later still there. Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, now in Shanghai. Loves it there. My understanding is they pick up housing expense and multiple annual trips home. Also cover driver and maid...but Australia ain't Asia. Negotiate your best deal and go for it!

If you don't I bet years from now you'l kick yourself for passing on the opportunity of a lifetime.

How much more is fuel? Getting the boat there is fine but if you can't use it frequent enough.......

It is a big decision.

My take:

Having to know by Monday seems fast, and you could probably get more time by saying "wow, that is a big decision to make that quickly, you want a smart guy, a smart guy would take a little time to choose wisely"; on the other hand, how much time do you really need? By Monday you will know in your heart, and longer to decide will probably not help. There is something to be said for a person who can make a decision and take action quickly and definitively.

This is may be once in a lifetime opportunity. I gave up the chance to live and work in Germany when I was young and have regretted it (more wistfully than seriously, but still).

It is hard to discount the importance to your professional development. The practical experience and broadening of perspective you gain will be invaluable, and what it will do for your resume can't be had any other way.

I spent 4 years in the military 2000 miles from home and 5 years in training 3200 miles from home (neither was half a world away, but at least a day travel both ways); both times, it flew by and the trips home were usually enough.

Australia is cool. I have friend who is a surgeon in Melbourne. I need another excuse to make the trip. The proximity to the Pacific and places like New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. makes it even more cool. You have already starting making friends, there are more to be had.

On the minus side, missing family. Your ski/boat buddies will miss having you around. Making sure it makes good financial sense. The chance you will decide not to come back for whatever reason.

Overall, if I were your age and single, I would have a very hard time passing something like this up.

Wayne

Will see you soon at SJRR

I agree with jbear, sounds like an adventure of a lifetime!!! GO FOR IT...

I would be packing already.

Was also thinking along the same lines as Donald, be it your boat or another, bring one and sell at the end of your tour.

Adam,

Plan "B".

Buy my boat and leave your boat here in the USA. Heck, I will even be willing to keep it limbered up for you while you are gone on your adventure.

Did I ever tell you that my boat was the official tow boat for the 1980 Momba Worlds? Then it did Cypress Gardens, 1980 Masters, Sea World, Bush Gardens and Six Flags over Georgia.

It would be a once in a life time opportunity / investment for you.

Just trying to help,

Donald

I believe that Tommy was retired by 1980.

Tom,

She and I are whores.

LOL

Donald

Sorry I've been a little quiet the past couple days, I had some exploring to do.

I'm gonna do it. IAughtNaut's goint to be IAughtNaustralian for the next 12 to 24 months.

This was a crazy hard decision for me, and I want to thank you all for your input and perspective, it was tremendously helpful.

jimsport- I'm sure I'm putting my dad in the same spot as your son did. That's probably the hardest part of this, he and I have gotten super close over the past few years. however, my boss told me that I will probably have 4 trips home in my relo package, so I see at least two minis in my future each year.

Todd- I'm keeping my options open, but I'm not sure how to set the alarm on my biological clock, so I'm sure several Ms. Australian IAughtNaut's will come and go. Of course, my dad found a wife away from home and brought her back, so maybe its in my blood.

Mark- yes I see management in my future, but the way I see it, this relo may postpone that plan, but in the long run it will advance it. I think (and I've been told) that I'll put myself in a much better position in the long run by making this move, particularly if I kill it over here. As for when I get back, the plan will be to come back to my same position. Actually, moving over here I am keeping the same job, same deparment, so nothing is really changing in that regard except my mailing address. Plus now you and I will become much more frequent ski mates.

Sebastian- awesome insight, I was hoping that someone would speak up with an experience like that. The taxes and such should mostly be handled by the consultant company that we hire for this sort of thing. I know one girl who has already moved over here and she says taxes are a real bltch, but they basically handle everything.

Joe- you're on the list as signed up for a visit. Bring it on.

TimBob- with your Delta connections if you don't get over here for the first Aussie CCFan get together then we've got problems. And yes, I was considering something similar a few years ago. I've never been 100% sold on living in CLE forever, the skiing's not good enough, haha.

Gary- the American sentiment is weird here, all the TV, music, movies, and fashion are American, but there is a definite anti-American sentiment. Its not bad, but I certainly haven't had women throwing themselves just because I have a funny accent, haha. Getting a windshield for a sport here might be a possiblity, unless Lewy just won't wait that long.

Jerry- my initial thought was no also, but then I got over here and its pretty much paradise.

HW- pretty dead on. The things I'm leaving are tough, but no wife, no GF, no house, just a couple close friends who are taking it pretty hard. I am too as far as that's concerned.

Jeff- I don't think the maid thing is on the table, but they are definitely going to cover my housing, which I basically look at as an instant raise, and more money for me to spend on a new boat...more on that later.

Zach- I think my boat's staying home, may be asking for your help on finding on to give that accent too.

Dr Wayne- you're right on, it took me a few days to wrap my head around everything, as well as several conversations with good friends, but after a long talk with my fake fiance she told me something that finally made it click. She said, Adam, I know you, you want your stories. More than anytihng you know that this will be a great story you'll always have. That wasn't the whole of the decision, but it was the moment it clicked. Also added you to the list, especially if you already have a friend over here!

Dave- I hope I'm young enough to make mistakes, cause I'm good at that! See you in a few weeks!

John and Scott- I'm going, I'm going, haha. I'll make you both proud, or at least give you a chance for plausible deniability.

Donald- once again you prove there's wisdom inside that pretty packaging. When I was talking to Lewy he clued me in on the fact that the Aussie market is ripe for imported boats. My plan- my company will give me $X to move. Throw all my stuff into storage or a friend's basement at home, get here and outfit an apartment at ikea, which I was surprised to see they have here. Use the rest to buy one of those sub 10K NWZ's benjamin keeps finding, or maybe a mid-90s sport. Ski it for two years, then leave it here. As for plan B, I doubt anyone over here would have a true appreciation for the historical marvel that is your boat, so I probably wouldn't get you a fair price for it. As for my boat, I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with it. Seems a shame to let a perfectly good boat sit for 2 years and not get used.

CQ- the packing part's gonna suck, but you're right on with the boat flip.

JP- yes to the cyclones, they were actually real close to Brisbane, which is one of the two cities on my list of options. I guess its no different than hurricanes in FL.

Tom- that sentiment also weighed heavily into my decision. Another drop of wisdom from my girl at home, she said, the last thing I want is to be sitting with you at a bar in a year and have you say, I really wish I had made the other choice. I thought about it, if I took the promo, I would always say, I wish I had gone to Oz. But I can't envision a situation where I move here and say, man, I really wish I had taken an promotion that I can probably get shortly after I get home anyway.

I think I'll sign an agreement that says I'll be here for a year, in a way to protect both myself and my company's interests. If I get here and I hate it, then at the end of the year I can bow out and come back. If I love it, I can re-up. Likewise, if our business dries up over here, after a year the company can say, you know what, we thought we needed people over there, but it turns out we don't, why don't you come on home. I think a one year adventure of a lifetime is right up my alley.

Ultimately I've spent my whole life keeping my situation liquid for just something like this...no house, no wife, no kids, no pets. I just had to have the balls to take the chance when it presented itself.

All that being said, I'm still not locked into anything. I have the choice to turn down whatever relo offer they make. Now, that would be a real bummer, because I would have ultimately turned two good offers into nothing. Which ultimately isn't the end of the world, I still have a great job with a great company, and obviously great friends, whether in real life, or here on the interweb.

Thank you all for your insight and support, I'll see many of you in a few weeks.

Oh, and more pics and stories when I get home and have more time to organize my thoughts. These last few days have been pretty tumultuous.

JPASS wrote: On a completely different note, was there a cyclone down there recently? I keep seeing videos of a massive cyclone that hit Australia, but there are no dates to confirm when it took place. looked like a crazy storm.

It was a Category 5 cyclone (Marcia) which hit Yeppon and Rockhampton. Plenty of wind and storm surge damage, still 50,000 homes without power. I do not think a cyclone has ever hit Brisbane. They normally cross the coast well above Brisbane and by the time they get to Brissie they are just a tropical low pressure system that dumps a heap of rain cause flooding of the Brisbane river.

But who knows if Adam moves here anything could happen

Congrats Adam you will love Australia.

As a side note for you guys talking about Mrs IAughtNaut Australia. While Adam was visiting in Tamworth my lovely wife Jo (the ever dutiful mother) was doing a bit of match making between Adam and our oldest daughter Mindy. I have obviously not told Jo everything about Adam. In Australia we have a saying "What happens on tour stays on tour" this would apply to GL2012 and Adam.

Hey Adam Jo said you have missed out on batgirl but superwoman is still available

plus I've tangled with batgirl before, she's nuts, haha

And you were thinking about leaving that.....